You’re Probably Wrong About Hemp

For a long time, it’s had quite a bad wrap. That’s why you’re wrong about hemp.

The stigma behind that bad wrap and what makes you wrong about hemp goes back to the 1950’s.

Somehow hemp, which can’t get you high, got grouped in with marijuana, which very definitely can and will get you high.

Because they are both similar plants, regulations changed in 1970 that made hemp a controlled substance.

You might think this is a new product but hemp fibers have actually been used for thousands of years.

Did you know that Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper?

It has taken a while but with the 2014 Farm Bill and 2015 Industrial Hemp Farming Act, it has helped increase economic opportunities for many states wanting to grow hemp.

Over the last several years, the United States Federal Government along with many state governments have enacted laws which makes it easier to have a legal economy around the creation of hemp products.

Hemp is now under s different umbrella than marijuana. Marijuana has a high concentration of THC, this is what gets you high. Hemp is mostly CBD, its THC numbers are very low.

For hemp to be legal it needs to have less than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.

The Industrial Hemp Farming Act has given businesses clarity and confidence that this industry is now welcome in the U.S. This is good news for research and for industrial purposes.

This is also good news for farmers in the states where further legislation has been passed to encourage the development of the Industrial Hemp industry.

Now with these legal movements, it is helping people understand the difference between hemp and marijuana. Even though hemp and marijuana are from similar plants, they have two completely separate purposes.

Initially, the marketing challenges for a company will be to get hemp away from the dancing hippie free-loving images that get conjured up with smoking marijuana.

Here are some facts that will help the industrial hemp industry

It is believed that hemp is the first plant intentionally cultivated. There is evidence that over 10,000 years ago China used hemp in textile manufacturing.

Hemp is full of CBD, which prevents a high.

Hemp got grouped in with marijuana as a controlled substance in 1970. Which meant growers needed a federal permit.

Prior to the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill, hemp hadn’t been grown in the U.S. under a large scale for more than 50 years.

In 2014 the U.S. purchased over $620 million in hemp products from other countries, like China, Canada, and European nations.

CBD is now a booming business in the U.S. There is an estimation of $450 million in sales by 2020, up from $90 million in 2015.

The hemp boom is in its infancy; as of 2016 hemp was roughly a $400 million industry. The projected growth is up to $1.5 billion by 2020. Many holistic health products seem to be all about hemp.

The hemp demand was there before it was made legal. The legal import of hemp products jumped from $1.4 million in 2000 to $11.5 million in 2011.

Almost all states allow CBC products, with 15 states allowing only the sale of CBC consumer products and another 28, plus Washington D.C. allowing CBC products as part of the legalization of medical marijuana.

Hemp farming is actually cheaper and easier to do. It is environmentally friendly, requiring little water and does not need poisonous pesticides used, as the plant naturally does this on its own.

The CBD oil in hemp helps with insomnia, fibromyalgia, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, diabetes, acne, mad cow disease, schizophrenia, Crohn’s disease, cigarette addictions, anxiety, and pain. Most of these many of us did not know about hemp, as it was suppressed largely by the FDA and government.

Sonia Rina Landry is a passionate entrepreneur, speaker, author, and personal development coach. She is an outspoken advocate of the free market economy and has helped countless clients identify their core values, envision and realize goals that resonate with those values. She oversees several businesses online and offline.